During natural gas production the natural gas must be compressed and the excess moisture removed in order to transport it in pipelines. The typical practice is to have multiple compression cycles in series to raise the gas to the pressure of the pipeline being used to transport the gas. Compression introduces heat into the gas. So after each cycle the gas is run through a fin fan heat exchanger. The gas is passed through one of a multiple number of tubes that are in parallel between two headers. Ambient air is then forced over the exterior of the tubes. Heat from the gas is transferred through the tube and the fins located on the exterior surface of the tube and into the ambient air. Once cooled, the excess water and other liquids are removed from the gas prior to beginning another compression cycle.
The number of compression cycles can vary depending upon the pressure of the pipeline being used to transport the gas, gas specifications and average summer ambient air temperatures for the location.
The drawback to the prior art system is the efficiency of heat removal. The fin fan heat exchangers are expensive to install and operate. The movement of large amounts of ambient air across the exterior of the tubes is exceedingly loud.
What is needed, therefore, is a more cost effective, efficient and quiet way to cool gas between compression cycles.